Published on Wednesday, October 23, 2002 by CommonDreams.org There has been much talk of the fact that the Bali bombing marked the second anniversary of the attack on the USS Cole. But the deadly blast also coincides with another milestone — one with even more significance to the current direction of U.S. foreign policy. Nineteen […]

Published in The Earth Times Magazine (March 2002) There is no issue more pivotal to the future of the terror war in Southeast Asia than the relationship between the U.S. and Indonesia’s generals. Nor is there any relationship fraught with more pitfalls. Under the armed forces’ policy of dwifungsi, the military is responsible for safeguarding […]

Washington Times, July 3, 1998 JAKARTA, Indonesia – Six weeks after he was ousted from power, former President Suharto continues to loom as a presence in the Indonesian political landscape. After three decades of one-man rule, Indonesia now resembles a political smorgasbord of emerging political parties representing everyone from students and Muslims to supporters of […]

June 1998 (JAKARTA) – Indonesia ended the first full week of the post-Suharto era a nation drunk on reform after three decades of authoritarian rule. The most striking thing was the sheer volume of political noise. The long-repressed voice of the Indonesian populous was suddenly released in a cacophony of debate, discussion and denunciation. Everyone, […]

Washington Times, May 28, 1998 JAKARTA, Indonesia – A congressional group led by Rep. Christopher H. Smith heaped pressure on President Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie yesterday to clean up his country’s record on democracy and human rights, warning their support for an IMF bailout package would depend on the results. Mr. Smith delivered the warning yesterday […]

Washington Times, May 25, 1998 JAKARTA, Indonesia – President Bachruddin Jusuf Habibie is ready to accept genuine economic reform and new parliamentary elections within a year to save the country from continued turmoil, a leading opposition leader said yesterday. Muslim leader Amien Rais disclosed the results of a private meeting with Mr. Habibie as five […]

Washington Times, May 22, 1998 JAKARTA, Indonesia – Newly installed President Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie led his country into the post-Suharto era yesterday with a vow to increase democratic freedoms, prompting a mix of relief and suspicion from riot-weary Indonesians. Few believed the close ally of Indonesia’s longtime ruler would be more than a transitional figure, […]

Washington Times, May 21, 1998 JAKARTA, Indonesia – After more than three decades of unrivaled rule over the world’s fourth-most-populous nation, Indonesian President Suharto has resigned. “After truly considering the opinions of parliament and heads of factions in it, I decide to declare withdrawal as president of the republic of Indonesia,” a humbled Suharto said […]

Washington Times, May 19, 1998 JAKARTA, Indonesia – The influential speaker of parliament yesterday urged President Suharto to step down for the good of the nation, prompting cheers in the streets as citizens welcomed the crumbling of support for the 76-year-old ruler. Suharto appeared on television today to speak to the nation, but the address […]

Washington Times, May 18, 1998 JAKARTA, Indonesia – In the long tradition of Third-World dictators under siege, President Suharto dug in over the weekend, ordering the military to crack down on unrest and offering only cosmetic changes in response to riots that made a charred skeleton of his capital. Three days after returning to Indonesia, […]